Where Was Spike?
by panther23
Summary: Just a few one shot stories about where Spike was during the episodes were he was absent.
1. Sweet and Elite

Morning had hit the Golden Oak Library and Twilight had just woken up. She let out a big yawn before getting out of bed. She made her way downstairs where she saw that Spike was busy sweeping the floor.

Spike quickly looked up to see that Twilight was awake and he smiled. He then placed the broom on the floor before walking up to Twilight and giving her a big hug.

"Happy Birthday, Twi," he said.

"Aw, thanks Spike," Twilight said as she returned the hug.

Twilight had been so busy with her studies that she was happy that just for today she could just hang out with her friends.

"So, you have any big plans today?" asked Spike.

"I sure do," said Twilight. "Pinkie Pie has a huge party planned, as usual, and Rarity is coming home from her trip to Canterlot and she said that she has made a lovely birthday dress for me. Knowing Rarity, it will be simply beautiful."

Spike was about to continue his sweeping when he suddenly burped up a flame and a rolled up scroll fell on the ground. Twilight quickly picked it up with her magic and unrolled it to see what it said.

"It's from Rarity," said Twilight.

Spike watched as Twilight read the letter and judging by the frown that suddenly appeared on her face, he knew that it wasn't good news.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I'm afraid so," said Twilight. "Apparently, Opal has gotten sick and Rarity won't be able to make it home in time."

Twilight gently dropped the scroll and let out a sad sigh. Her birthday party just wouldn't be the same without Rarity. Then at that moment, an idea popped into Twilight's head.

"I'll just bring the party to Rarity," she said. "Spike, take a letter."

Spike quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a writing quill and wrote down what Twilight said:

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_As you know, today is my birthday and my friends have planned me a huge party in honor of my special day. But sadly, my dear friend Rarity won't be able to make it. She just sent me a letter telling me that she has to stay in Canterlot a little while longer to take care of her sick cat. So, I was hoping that with your permission, I can have my party in Canterot so that Rarity won't be able to miss anything._

_-Your faithful student, _

_Twilight Sparkle. _

When Spike finished, he rolled up the letter and blew his fire breath onto it, making it disappear. Just seconds after he sent it, Spike burped up another letter. He unrolled it and read it to Twilight:

_Dear Twilight Sparkle, _

_I would be more than happy to allow you to come to Canterlot. You can use the main ball room to throw the party. It has been empty since the last Grand Galloping Gala, so you and your friends can have the whole place to yourselves. There will be a fancy garden party happening just outside the ball room, but I'm sure they won't bother you. _

_Signed _

_Princess Celestia. _

_P.S. Happy Birthday_.

"Perfect. I'd better tell the others about this," said Twilight before walking out of the library.

A few minutes later, Twilight returned.

"Well, all my friends know about the party," she said to Spike. "You should have seen Pinkie's face. When I told her that she'll be throwing a party in Canterlot, she had the biggest smile on her face. My head is still spinning from watching her bounce around me so fast. Well, we better get going. The others are already on their way to the train station."

Twilight was just about to leave, when she saw that Spike was still sweeping the floor.

"Aren't you coming, Spike?" she asked.

"No, that's okay," said Spike. "I have a lot of stuff to do today."

Twilight was a bit shocked after hearing this. She would have thought that Spike would love to go to Canterlot, especially to see Rarity.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be all right. You go and have fun. And tell Rarity I said 'hi.'"

Twilight simply shrugged it off and walked out of the library.

As soon as she left, Spike went to the window and watched Twilight walk away. When she was out of sight, a big smile appeared on Spike's face. He quickly went to the kitchen and put on his signature baker's hat. He then opened the cupboards and pulled out a number of items, including a mixing bowl, a carton of eggs, a bag of flower, an egg beater, a carton of milk, some sugar and a wooden spoon.

"Twilight is going to love this," said Spike as he cracked an egg into the bowl.

It was night time when Twilight had returned to Ponyville, still wearing the birthday dress Rarity made for her. She kept thinking how great her party had turned out. Not only did she get to party to some of Canterot's elite ponies, but she got complimented by _the _Fancy Pants. She never actually thought that she would actually meet one of the most famous ponies in Canterlot, let alone get a compliment from him.

Twilight made her way to the library and when she went inside, she saw that all the lights were out. She assumed that Spike had already gone to bed, so she decided to tiptoe her way to her bed without waking him up. Just then, the lights turned on and Twilight saw Spike in the middle of the room, holding onto a big cake covered in purple frosting and topped with a bunch of lit birthday candles.

"Surprise," said Spike.

Twilight walked up and looked at the cake and saw that on the top were the words, "Happy Birthday, Twilight" written in red icing.

"I made this myself," Spike continued. "I thought that we could share it and have our very own little party. Just the two of us."

Twilight was so happy at her little assistant's surprise that she felt like she was going to cry.

"Oh, Spike, this is the most lovely surprise ever," she said before giving Spike a little kiss on the forehead.

Spike then placed the cake on the floor and blew a small green flame that was used to light up the candles.

"Time to make a wish," he said.

Twilight just smiled as she thought of what to wish for and then blew out all of the candles.

"So, what did you wish for?" asked Spike.

Twilight replied by wrapping her front leg around Spike and gently pulling him into a hug.

"That you will stay a sweet, little dragon."

After the cake was done, Twilight and Spike sat beside each other, both rubbing their bellies.

"That was the best cake I ever had," said Twilight. "You should give your recipe to the Cakes."

"Aw, I don't think it's _that_ good," said Spike blushing. He then sat up and said, "Oh, I almost forgot."

Spike then got to his feet and quickly walked upstairs. When he came back down, he was holding onto a rectangular shaped gift wrapped in purple wrapping paper with a big red bow on top, which he handed to Twilight.

"What's a birthday without a present," he said.

Twilight lifted the gift up with her magic and then used it to unwrap it. It was revealed to be a brown book and on the cover it read _The Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy. _

"Isn't this the book you accidentally burnt up?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah," said Spike. "Somepony was having a yard sale and he just so happened to have that book on sale. He told me it's in mere mint condition."

Twilight kind of felt bad when she looked at the book. It reminded her of how she told Spike she was disappointed in him for burning the book up, even though she knew it was an accident, but she soon smiled again knowing that Spike bought it to make up for his mistake.

"Thank you, Spike. I love it," said Twilight as she gave Spike another hug.

Just then, Twilight and Spike both let out a big yawn.

"Well, I'm beat," said Spike.

"Me too," said Twilight. "Two parties in one day can really tire you out. I don't know how Pinkie Pie does it."

The two then made their way upstairs to their bedroom. Spike got into his small basket as Twilight used her magic to gently lift up Spike's blanket and place it on top of him before giving him a kiss on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Spike."

"Goodnight, Twilight. And Happy Birthday."

Twilight then got into her own bed and watched as her little dragon assistant slowly closed his eyes and went to sleep before going to sleep herself. To her, today was her best birthday.


	2. Putting Your Hoof Down

Spike pulled his wagon though the Ponyville market place. Twilight had asked him to pick up a few things and he stopped and eyed the items he got to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

"Strawberries? Check! Apples? Check! Cherries? Check! Tomatoes? Check! Carrots? Check! Well, it seems like I got everything," Spike said to himself.

He was just about to head home when he heard a familiar voice.

"Ten bits for one cherry is outrageous!"

"That sounds like Fluttershy," Spike said as he followed the voice.

He then stopped when he saw Fluttershy talking to the owner of the cherry stand. He overheard her trying to lower the price of the one cherry the owner had left, but she was actually increasing the price from ten bits to twelve. Before she could hand them to him, Pinkie Pie and Rarity stopped her, saying that twelve bits is just too much for one cherry and they tried pulling Fluttershy away from the stand. But Fluttershy broke from their grasp, claiming that Angel needed that cherry and she didn't care what it cost.

But just as Fluttershy was about to grab the cherry, the stand owner quickly changed the price to twenty bits. Fluttershy stopped dead in her tracks and reveled that she didn't have that much money.

"Then quick wasting my time," the cherry owner said rudely.

Spike just stood where he was with his jaw dropped. He was shocked at how rude and selfish the cherry owner was to Fluttershy. He was shocked even more when another pony walked by the stand and offered three bits for the cherry and the owner gave it to her with no fuss at all. But what really disgusted Spike was what the owner said to Fluttershy just after that.

"Tough break, kid. Next time, don't be such a doormat."

Fluttershy then simply walked away with a sad look on her face.

Spike was furious at what he just saw. Fluttershy was the one of the kindest ponies he knew and she did not deserve to be treated like that. He then walked up to the cherry stand and shouted "Hey you!"

The cherry owner looked down and saw Spike glaring back at him.

"You talking to me, kid?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you," said Spike. "How could you treat Fluttershy like that?"

"What? I didn't do anything," said the owner

"Liar!" said Spike, adding a little bit of volume to his voice. "I saw what you did. You tried to cheat Fluttershy out of all of her money for one measly cherry."

"Cherries can be quite expensive," the owner said, a bit irritated.

"Oh really?" said Spike. "Then how come you gave that one pony the cherry for only three bits?"

The cherry owner was about to say something, but Spike stopped him.

"Actually, you don't have to say it, because I already know the answer. You knew that Fluttershy really needed that cherry and you took full advantage of it."

The cherry owner soon noticed other ponies were hearing what Spike was saying and were looking at him with disgusted looks, making him feel a bit nervous.

"Hey c'mon, kid. Give me a break," he told Spike. "I'm just trying to run a business."

Spike could feel his blood boil as he kept getting madder and madder. He clutched his little fists together before talking again, this time in a more infuriating tone.

"You're not running a business, you're just being greedy! What you did to Fluttershy was downright terrible, and I didn't like it one bit!"

"That goes double for me," said Pinkie Pie as she and Rarity walked up to the stand and stood beside Spike. "You're just a big meanie."

"I couldn't agree more," said Rarity. "Fluttershy is a dear friend of mine, and I will not stand by and watch ponies like you take advantage of her."

Spike then walked up to the stand owner until he was looking at him right in the eyes.

"I'd better not catch you doing something like this again, or you're going to be very sorry," he told him.

The cherry owner just scoffed at Spike and let out a nasty chuckle.

"What are you going to do about it, you little runt?" he said.

Rarity let out a sharp gasp before giving the owner a huge glare.

"How dare you talk to Spikey-Wikey like that," she said.

"It's okay Rarity, I got this," Spike told his friend before looking back at the cherry owner. "You have no idea who I am. Do you?"

"Yeah, you're the guy who's annoying me and trying to ruin my business," the owner said.

"Wrong," said Spike. "My name is Spike. I'm the assistant of Twilight Sparkle, the star pupil of Princess Celestia. I can simply go to Twilight, tell her what you've been doing and she will send a letter to the princess that talks about you and your misdeeds. And I should warn you, Princess Celestia doesn't take too kindly to ponies who try to cheat others out of their money."

"Oh, I'm so scared," the cherry owner said in a mocking tone. "What is she going to do? Give me a slap on the wrist?"

The owner let out a small laugh but then stopped when he saw Spike looking at him with a sinister smile.

"Actually, the princess can do way worse," he said. "When me and Twilight were back in Canterlot, we heard a story about a pony who was selling counterfeit tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala. Princess Celestia heard about it and was not too happy. Last I heard, the pony was spending time in an underground prison where he's fed nothing but moldy bread."

Spike saw that the cherry owner had a look of sheer terror in his eyes. His old body was trembling and he had seat pouring down his forehead.

"Now, am I going to see you trying to steal an innocent pony's money again?" asked Spike.

The owner let out a big gulp before letting out a small "No sir."

"Good. Thank you for your time," the little dragon said before walking off with Pinkie Pie and Rarity.

"That was amazing, Spike," said Rarity. "I didn't know you had it in you."

"Thanks, Rarity," said Spike. "Nopony messes with my friends and gets away with it.

"Spike, I have a question," said Pinkie Pie. "Did the princess really send that pony to an underground prison and forced him to eat moldy bread?"

Spike let out a small chuckle before answering his friend.

"Actually, the princess just let him off with a warning. But that cherry pony doesn't know that."

The three friends all joined each other in a laugh as they walked away from the market place.

A few days after the whole Iron Will incident, Fluttershy was back at the market place. She had gotten everything on her list and now all she needed was a cherry. She made her way to the cherry stand and just like before, the owner only had one cherry left. Fluttershy took a deep breath and walked up to the stand.

"Excuse me, sir. I don't care how much that cherry is," she said. "But I really need it. So just name your price and I'll be on my way."

"One bit."

"That is outrageous…" Fluttershy started before realizing what he just said. "I'm sorry, did you say 'one bit?'"

"Yes I did," the cherry owner said, a bit nervously. "One bit for one cherry."

"Oh, well, um, thank you," Fluttershy said as she handed the owner a bit and then took the cherry and placed it in her saddlebag.

Fluttershy was a bit confused at the way the cherry owner was acting, but she was happy that she got her cherry.

Nearby, a young purple dragon smiled as he saw his Pegasus friend walk away.

"You did good, Spike."


	3. Daring Don't

Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie watched as Rainbow Dash paced back and forth in Twilight's library.

"Rainbow, will you take it easy on the pacing?" asked Applejack. "My neck's getting stiff."

"I just wish Twilight will hurry up and find that address," said Rainbow Dash.

The address that Rainbow Dash was talking about was the one to the home of _Daring Do_ author, A.K. Yearling. After hearing that the latest _Daring Do_ novel was going to be delayed for another two months, Rainbow Dash had asked Twilight, who was a bigger _Daring Do_ fan than Rainbow, to try and find the address of Miss. Yearling so they can ask her why she was taking so long with her book.

Finally, Twilight had come and joined the others.

"Well I checked the address book," she said. "And it seems that A.K. Yearling lives in a cabin just on the edge of the Everfree forest."

"Why in Equestira would she be out there?" asked Rarity.

"She probably likes the peace and quiet," said Fluttershy. "Being out in the middle of the woods is so nice. It is the perfect spot to get some writing done."

"Well then let's go," said Rainbow Dash. "The longer we wait here, the longer it will take me to get the new book."

The six friends were just about to leave the library when a thought hit Applejack.

"Isn't Spike coming with us?" she asked. "Meeting a famous author would be pretty neat for him."

A look of guilt suddenly appeared on Twilight's face.

"Well, I'd asked him to come along but…."

"But I'm afraid I can't make it," said a voice behind the ponies.

They all turned to see Spike standing behind them with a cast on his leg.

"Good heavens Spike. What happened?" asked a shocked Rarity.

"It's my fault," said Twilight. "I was using my magic to help me get a book off of one of the top shelves, but then I sneezed, which caused me to lose my grip on the book and it landed right on Spike's foot."

"Twilight, will you stop blaming yourself?" Spike said. "It was an accident."

"I know," said Twilight. "But I still feel awful about it. And now thanks to me, you're going to miss meeting A.K. Yearling. And I know that you're a bigger _Daring D_o fan than me and Rainbow Dash combine."

"I didn't know Spike like those books too," said Rarity.

"Are you kidding? I've read those books about a million times," said Spike.

"Actually, it was only 3,497 times," said Twilight.

Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight with a confused look.

"You actually counted how many times he read them?"

"I was bored."

Spike simply rolled his eyes at what Twilight said and let out a small chuckle. Just then, he came up with an idea.

"You know, there is one way you can make it up to me," he said. "When you meet Miss. Yearling, you think you can get me an autograph?"

"Sure thing, Spike," said Twilight as she patted her dragon friend on the head. "I just hope Miss. Yearling isn't too busy."

"We won't know if we stay here yapping," said Rainbow Dash, who started to sound very irritated. "Let's get going."

The six ponies said their goodbyes to Spike as they left the library. As soon as they were gone, Spike was reminded at how great the _Daring Do_ books were and he decided that he wanted to read them again. He then went to a huge shelf where Twilight had kept her entire series of the books and grabbed his favorite one, _Daring Do and the Emerald Dragon Tears_. The plot centered around Daring Do befriending a clan of young dragons and helping them find a number of magical jewels before an evil wizard pony could get at them and use them for a magic spell that would make him a powerful sorcerer. Spike then wobbled his way to his bed, got comfortable and started to read.

After Spike finished his book, he looked out the window and saw that the sun was starting to set.

"Man, I keep forgetting how long this book is," he said to himself.

Just then, he heard the sound of the door opening and Twilight calling, "Spike, I'm back."

"I'm in the bedroom," he called back.

Twilight then came up the stairs and smiled when she saw Spike.

"So what was it like meeting the author of _Daring Do_?" asked Spike.

"It was more amazing than I thought," said Twilight.

Even though Spike did feel a bit jealous that Twilight got to meet A.K. Yearling and he didn't, he was still happy for her.

"That reminds me. Did you get an autograph for me?" Spike asked.

The smile on Twilight's face grew even bigger.

"Even better," she said as she turned to the stairs and called down, "You can come up now."

Spike's eyes widen and his jaw dropped at what he saw. There, coming up the stairs, was none other than Daring Do herself. Spike was so surprised that he pinched himself to make sure whether or not he was dreaming.

"Hi there. You must be Spike," said Daring Do. "Twilight has told me a lot about you."

"Y-yes. That's me," Spike stammered. "I can't believe you're here. I always thought you were make-believe."

"Nope. I'm very much real," Daring chuckled.

She then noticed the book that Spike was holding onto and smiled.

"_The Emerald Dragon Tears_. How could I forget that adventure? Do you like that story?"

"It's my favorite in the whole series," said Spike. "Are you still friends with the dragon clan?"

"Sure am," said Daring. "I had tea with them just last week."

As Daring Do spoke, Spike just sat in his bed in amazement. He just could not believe that the one and only Daring Do was standing right in front of him.

"So Twilight told me that you want my autograph," Daring Do said.

Spike simply nodded his head in excitement.

Daring Do then took off her pith helmet and pulled out a pencil from it. She then asked Spike for the book. When he handed it to her, she opened it up to and wrote something down on it. When she gave it back to Spike, he saw that she had written her signature. Twilight couldn't help but chuckle when she saw that Spike had the biggest smile on his face.

But Daring Do was not done yet. She then then bent down and wrote another signature on Spike's cast.

"There you go. Two autographs for the price of one," she said.

Spike didn't know what to say. He not only got to meet one of his favorite literary characters, but he also her autograph twice in one day. He then quickly got up off his bed and hugged Daring Do.

"Thank you, Miss. Do," he said.

"Please, call me "Daring." Well, I'd better be getting home. I got a book to finish."

Daring Do said her goodbyes to Twilight and Spike and then left the library.

Spike then waddle his way to Twilight and gave her a big hug.

"Thank you, Twilight," he said. "You just made me the happiest dragon in all of Equestria."

"Anything for a friend," said Twilight.


	4. Hearts and Hooves Day

Twilight was walking through Ponyville on her way back to her library. He had just gotten her book about the history of Hearts and Hooves Day back from the Cutie Mark Crusaders and couldn't help but laugh after hearing the adventure the three fillies had with it. She found it extremely funny when they told her about the mushy baby names that Cheerilee and Big Macintosh called each other. She decided that when she got back to her library, she would write a letter to the princess, telling her what happened, knowing that she would probably get a laugh out of it as well.

Twilight finally made it to the library and went inside. She then walked up to her writing desk only to stop dead in her tracks and let out a horrified gasp at what she saw. Her desk was a complete mess. It was covered in glue, glitter and bits of red construction paper. Twilight soon started to get angry as she started to realize who did this.

"SPIKE!"

The small dragon heard his name being called and he walked up to Twilight, who could tell by the bits of glitter stuck to his belly that she was right about who the guilty party was.

"Is something wrong, Twi?" Spike innocently asked.

"Yes, there's something wrong," snapped Twilight. "Look at my desk! It's a mess! And I was about to write a letter to the princess! What were you doing?!

Spike's ears soon drooped as he looked at the ground in shame.

"I'm sorry, Twilight," he said. "It's just that it's Hearts and Hooves Day and I was making a special something."

"Let me guess," said Twilight, still angry. "You were making a big card for Rarity."

"No, actually it was for…" Spike started before Twilight cut him off.

"I don't want to hear it! I don't care how great your card is! You ruined my desk!"

"I'm sorry, Twi," Spike said for a second time. "I'll clean it all up."

"No," Twilight snapped. "I think you've done enough. I'll clean it myself. Just get out of my sight."

"But Twi…"

"I said leave!"

Spike just stood still in shock. He had never seen Twilight so angry before, especially at him. He soon started to feel tears forming in his eyes. And before Twilight could see him cry, Spike ran upstairs to the bedroom.

Twilight used her magic to pick up all of the bits of construction paper and put them in a nearby waste paper basket. She then went into the kitchen, placed a bucket in the sink and filled it up with water that she would use to clean up the glue and glitter.

Twilight was just about to leave the kitchen when she saw something on the table. She went up to it and saw that it was a bunch of pages of red construction paper glued together like a book. In the middle of the front page was a big red heart with bits of glitter sprinkled around it. Twilight soon realized that this was what Spike was working on and even though she thought he did a good job on it, she was still a bit mad that Spike made such a mess in order to make it. That is until she saw what was written inside the middle of the heart. Twilight was expecting to see Rarity's name on it, but instead the heart said TO TWILIGHT.

Twilight flipped the book open and saw that the first page was a letter which read.

_Dear Twilight, _

_Since today is Hearts and Hooves Day, I decided to make a little something for you to show you that whether or not you have a special somepony to spend the day with, you will always be special to me. _

_Love, your #1 assistant and close friend,_

_-Spike. _

Twilight flipped through the rest of pages of the book and was amazed at what she saw. Each page was filled with photos of Twilight and Spike doing things together over the years. There was one of Twilight holding onto Spike when he was a baby and feeding him a bottle and one of Spike sitting in a high chair while Twilight fed him a spoonful of crushed gems. There was a photo of Spike snuggling up next to Twilight as she read him a story, one of a teary eyed Spike with a scrap on his knee and Twilight kissing it better and one that took place during the Nightmare Night festival that showed Twilight and Spike bobbing for apples with Princess Luna. The final photo showed Spike and Twilight sharing a big hug with each other.

A small smile appeared on Twilight's face. She was so touched that Spike had done something so thoughtful for her. But that smile soon disappeared when Twilight was reminded of how mean she was Spike just now. She felt terribly guilty over how she treated her little dragon friend. He had worked so hard on his gift for her and she just yelled at him. Twilight knew that she had to go to Spike and apologize. She just hoped that he wasn't too upset with her.

Twilight made her way upstairs to the bedroom and her heart simply broke at what she saw. Spike was sitting on top of Twilight's bed with small tears dripping from his eyes while Owlowiscious sat beside him and gently rubbed his back with his wing. When the owl saw Twilight, he could tell by the look on her face that she wanted to talk to Spike, so he gave Twilight a small nod before flying off and resting on his perch.

Spike looked up and saw Twilight staring back at him. Neither of them said anything for a second until Spike finally spoke.

"I'm really sorry, Twilight. I didn't mean to make a mess."

And before Spike could say anything else, Twilight ran up to him and embraced him in a tight hug.

"No, Spike. You don't have to apologize for anything," she said. "I'm one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have been so angry with you."

Spike looked at Twilight and saw that she was getting teary-eyed.

"Do you really mean that?" he asked.

Twilight slowly nodded her head before talking again.

"I had no right to yell at you like that. You were only trying to make me something nice. I saw the little photo album you made."

"Did you like it?"

"I loved it. It was the most thoughtful gift I have ever gotten."

Spike soon smiled after hearing what Twilight said and soon returned her hug.

"Thanks, Twilight. That means a lot."

The two just stood in the room hugging each other for what seemed like an eternity. Then Twilight let go of the embrace, wiped the tears from her eyes, and smiled at Spike.

"I want to make it up to you though," she said. "How about I take you down to Sugarcube Corner? Pinkie Pie told me that she baked a bunch of fresh heart shape cookies for this day. My treat."

"Sounds great," said Spike as he jumped off the bed.

Before they left, Twilight saw that Spike still had some glitter stuck to his belly.

"Let's get you cleaned up first."

Twilight then used her magic to lift up a nearby feather duster which she used to clean the glitter off of Spike.

As soon as the duster touched him, Spike went into a big giggle fit.

"Hey! Twilight cut it out! That tickles!"

Twilight found Spike's laugh to be quite contagious because she started giggling as well. When she finally put the duster away, she could see Spike looking at him with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Two can play that game," he said.

"Don't you dare," said Twilight.

Spike then pounced right onto Twilight, causing her land on her back, and he began to viciously tickle her bell, causing to Twilight to laugh hysterically.

"Spike, stop! Please! I give! Uncle!"

Spike stopped his tickle attack and smiled at Twilight, who couldn't help but smile back, and the two shared another hug. Twilight couldn't help but feel proud that she had such a loving and caring dragon for a friend.

"I love you, Spike."

"I love you too, Twilight."


	5. Flight to the Finish

Spike looked out the window of the train with the biggest smile on his face. He was just so excited about where the train was headed. Rainbow Dash had told him about how she was heading to the Crystal Empire to help all the young fillies and colts with their routines for the completion where the winner got to carry the flag for the Equestria Games. Spike had begged Rainbow Dash to take him along and she was more than happy to bring him. She thought of it as a way to make up for Spike not being invited to the Empire when she and her friends went there to welcome Ms. Harshwhinny.

All of a sudden, the train made a sudden stop, causing Spike to fall out of his seat. When he got up, he saw Rainbow Dash opening up a back door and telling Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to follow her.

"Rainbow Dash, what's going on?" Spike asked as he walked up to the blue Pegasus.

"Sorry Spike, but I have to get Scootaloo," said Rainbow Dash. "Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle told me that she is feeling self-conscious about herself and didn't want to come. I have to go try and convince her. I'll meet you at the stadium."

Rainbow Dash, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle then jumped out of the train and made their way back to Ponyville.

Spike was about to go back to his seat when he heard someone say:

"Sorry you can't make it! We'll send you a photo from the winner's circle!"

This was soon followed by a mean sounding laugh.

Spike turned to where he heard the voice and saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon calling out the two fillies from an opened window. Spike was not too happy at what he just heard.

"Haven't you two heard of the saying 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?'" he asked them.

"Whatever," said Diamond Tiara. "The point is that with those three blank flanks out of the way, we're a shoe in to win the contest."

The two fillies then did their famous "Bump, Bump, Sugar lump, bump" dance before giggling away.

Spike made his way back to his seat and thought about how awful Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were. Although, it wasn't the first time they did something mean. Spike remembered the Cutie Mark Crusaders talking about all of the bullying Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had been putting them through. Like how they constantly make fun of them for not having cutie marks, or when Diamond Tiara became the editor for the school newspaper and forced the CMC to write hurtful gossip about their friends, even going as far as to blackmailing them with embarrassing photographs if they quit. But the worst, in Spike's opinion, was when Granny Smith came to the school for Family Appreciation Day and Diamond Tiara called her a "Kooky old lady" in front of the whole class. Spike had never heard of anything so disrespectful. The more he thought about it, the more Spike wanted to make the two fillies pay for all of the terrible things that they had done.

When the train made it to the Crystal Empire, Spike got off and made his way to the stadium. When he went inside, he saw all of the young foals practicing their routines. Some of them included jumping through hoops, fancy dances and even a few scooter tricks.

Just then, Spike saw Rainbow Dash in the center of the arena, along with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and, on her scooter, Scootaloo.

"Looks like you three beat me here," Spike said as he walked up to his friends.

"It was easy. What with this little speedster here," said Rainbow Dash as she ruffled Scootaloo's mane.

Spike then walked up to Scootaloo with a look on concern on his face.

"Rainbow Dash told me about how you were thinking of not coming here," he said. "What happened?"

"I was just feeling sorry for myself," said Scootaloo with a sad look on her face, which quickly turned into a look of anger. "Thanks to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."

Those two names pierced through Spike's heart like a hot poker. He had a feeling that those two fillies had something to do with this.

"What did those little brats do this time?" he asked Scootaloo.

"They tried to make me feel like I was a loser just because I can't fly yet. But that doesn't matter now. Rainbow Dash was able to talk me back into coming here and I am so ready for this competition."

She then turned to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

"Now let's win this thing!"

The three fillies all cheered as they ran off to go practice their routine.

Spike had a little smile on his face as he saw the CMC run off, but it soon disappeared when he saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon practicing some sort of dance. He couldn't believe that the two would do something so cruel to poor Scootaloo. This was even worse than when Diamond Tiara disrespected Granny Smith. Just even thinking about it made Spike sick to his stomach.

He then saw Ms. Harshwhinny on her way to a small stage when he knew he had to do something about this whole thing. He then quickly ran up to her and called out.

" ! I need to talk to you."

"Oh, hello, Mr. the Dragon," Miss Harshwinny said. "Is this important? Because I really need to get to the stage. The judging is about to begin."

"Yes. It is really important."

And Spike told Ms. Harshwhinny everything.

After announcing the winners, Miss. Harshwhinny was about to leave the stadium when she heard "Hold it right there!" from behind her. She turned around and saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walking towards her, and judging by the looks on their faces, they were not very happy.

"We demand to know why we didn't win," said Diamond Tiara.

"Yeah, we had the best routine ever," said Silver Spoon.

"Well, your routine was quite interesting," said Ms. Harshwhinny. "But I couldn't let you win. Not after hearing about what you did to poor Scootaloo."

The two fillies were shocked at what they just heard.

"Who told you about that?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"That would be me," said a voice from behind the two.

They both turned around to see Spike glaring back at them.

"Scootaloo told me what you said to her," he told them. "So I decided to tell Ms. Harshwhinny about it to make sure you didn't win."

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon both let out small gasps before looking back at Ms. Harshwhinny, who had a look of disgust on her face.

"Making fun of a young filly who cannot fly. I have never heard anything so cruel in all my life. You two should be ashamed of yourselves."

"You got that right," said Spike before glaring at the two fillies again. "I think you two owe Scootaloo an apology."

"Oh, please," Diamond Tiara scoffed. "We're not apologizing to that lame blank flank."

"I wasn't asking," said Spike. "Go and apologize to Scootaloo. Now!

"Make us," said Silver Spoon.

A smug smile suddenly appeared on Spike's face.

"Okay. Since you're being so polite about it."

And before Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon could do anything, Spike grabbed them both by the ears and dragged them away. Ms. Harshwhinny held her hoof over her mouth to cover up her laughter due to the sight she saw.

Back at the stage, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were chatting away about their recent win but were soon speechless when they saw Spike coming towards them while dragging Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon by the ear.

"Scootaloo, these two have something they would like to say to you," said Spike before looking at the two fillies he was holding. "Go on. Say it."

"I'm not saying it," said Diamond Tiara before letting out a small shriek of pain as Spike twisted her ear. "Ow! Okay! Okay! Scootaloo, we are sorry."

"We had no right to make fun of your wings," said Silver Spoon.

Spike then let the two bratty fillies go and watched as they rubbed their ears.

"Listen carefully, you two," he said. "If I ever catch you making fun of Scootaloo again, or any other pony for that matter, you're going to be very sorry."

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do?" asked Diamond Tiara.

Spike tried to think of a good reply to that when Sweetie Belle walked up to him and whispered something in his ear. Spike's smug smiled reappeared as he looked at both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon right in the eyes.

"I will tell your parents."

Upon hearing that, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had looks of sheer terror on their faces.

"No please! Anything but that!" said Diamond Tiara.

"We'll be good! We promise!" said Silver Spoon.

The two fillies then ran off as Spike let out a small chuckle.

Scootaloo then walked up to the young dragon and wrapped her front leg around him.

"Thanks Spike," she said.

"No problem, Scootaloo," said Spike. "Just remember, if those two are giving you a hard time again, just come to me. I'll help you out."

"I promise," said Scootaloo as she pulled Spike into a hug with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle soon joining in.


	6. Rainbow Falls

Twilight and Spike made their way to the center of the Ponyville Park where they saw Rainbow Dash coaching Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps while Pinkie Pie was cheering them on. The ponies were getting ready for the Equestria Games tryout at Rainbow Falls that were tomorrow and Spike and Twilight decided to see how they were doing.

The two watched as Bulk Biceps tried his best to lift himself off the ground, but he was only able to get up a couple of feet before falling flat on the ground.

"C'mon Bulk Biceps, you can do it," said Rainbow Dash. "You're a powerhouse."

"P" is for "Powerhouse!" shouted Pinkie Pie.

"More like "P" is for "Pathetic," said Spike. "With wings like those, I'm surprised he can even lift himself off the ground."

Bulk Biceps overheard the little dragon saying his little jokes and Twilight could tell by the unhappy look on his face that he didn't think it was funny.

"Seriously, Bulk Biceps, it's called a salad. Make friends with it."

Twilight started to get a little annoyed at the insults Spike had been throwing at Bulk Biceps.

"I guess I know why there are only three members of this team. Bulk got hungry and ate the other teammates."

Now Twilight was getting mad that Spike just wouldn't stop with the mean jokes.

"I bet.."

"That's enough, Spike!"

The young dragon turned to Twilight and was a bit shocked that she would raise his voice at him like that.

"I have had it with those insults," she said. "Can't you see that Bulk has enough problems without you rubbing it in?"

"Twilight, calm down," said Spike. "I was only kidding."

"Well, I don't think it's very funny," said Twilight. "And neither does Bulk. I am sick and tired of you always throwing insults all the time."

"All the time?" Spike was a bit confused at what Twilight just said. "Name one time I've been insulting."

"How about during the last Winter Wrap-Up?" said Twilight. "I messed up trying to skate and you said I was a natural all right. A natural disaster."

"Oh yeah," Spike said while rubbing the back of his neck. He had forgotten all about that incident.

"It pains me to say this, Spike. But with the way you've been acting, you've have been a very bad friend."

Twilight took a deep breath before talking again. She didn't want to say it, but she had no other choice.

"And if you are going to be like this, then I don't think you should come with us to the tryouts."

"WHAT?!" Spike shouted. "But that's not fair! I've been looking forward to them all week!"

"Well you should have thought about that before you decided to become a bully," said Twilight.

Spike tried to retort, but judging by Twilight's stern face, he wasn't going to win this argument. He clutched his little fists and let out a small snarl.

"You know what? Fine! If you don't want me around, then that's fine with me!"

Spike then stomped all the way back to the library.

"Wow, Twilight. Don't you think you were a little mean?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie's right," said Rainbow Dash. "I mean, I know Spike can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, but not letting him come to the tryouts? That's a little harsh."

"I know, and I didn't want to do it," said Twilight with a little bit of remorse in her voice. "But Spike's got to learn to respect other ponies' feelings."

The next day, Spike was in the library, dusting the shelves, while still a bit angry. Twilight was pretty serious about not bringing him to the tryouts with her. She even locked the front door to the library and took the key with her to make sure he didn't follow her.

"It's not fair," he said to himself. "I can't believe Twilight is not letting me go with her all because of a bunch of jokes. She really needs to get a sense of humor."

Spike then pulled out a brown book from the shelf and began removing the dust from it. Just then, the book let out a small sneeze.

"Bless you," Spike said to the book before stopping dead in his tracks. "Wait a minute. Books can't sneeze."

All of a sudden, a pair of yellow eyes and a mouth appeared on the book's cover.

"There's always a first time for everything," it said.

Spike was so shocked that he dropped the book on the floor. The pages of the book started to flip wildly as a huge tornado came out of it and when it died down; Discord appeared in its place with a huge smile in his face.

Spike quickly pointed his feather duster at him.

"Back off, Discord," he said.

But Discord just chuckled at the small dragon.

"What are you going to do with that? Tickle me to death?" he said. "That wouldn't work anyway. I'm not even ticklish."

Discord then proved it by grabbing the feather duster out of Spike's hands and used it to tickle both of his armpits, his belly, and the bottom of his lizard foot, but he didn't laugh once.

"I don't need that," said Spike. "One wrong move and I'll use my breath to roast you."

Discord only rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed sigh.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I am reformed. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

He then snapped his fingers and three other Discords appeared behind him, all wearing cheerleading outfits. He then shouted to all of them, making them jump and do different moves.

"Give me an R!"

"R!"

"Give me an E!"

"E!"

"Give me an F!"

"F!"

"Give me an O!"

"O!"

"Give an R! Again!"

"R!"

"Give me an M!"

"M!

"Give me another E!"

"E!"

"Give me a D!"

"D!"

What's that spell?"

"REFORMED!"

"Okay! Okay! I get it," said Spike. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Oh, just looking for something to eat," said Discord. "Those pages from Twilight's books that I ate the last time were so delicious that I decided to come back to see if Twilight had any other tasty reads."

Discord picked up a book that said "The Big Book of Oceans" and licked his lips.

"This is perfect. I love seafood."

Discord then placed the book between two large slices of bread and was about to take a bite when he saw Spike just standing with his arms crossed and staring at the ground with an angry glare.

"What's the matter with you?" asked Discord.

"Nothing. I'm fine," Spike mumbled.

"You don't look fine to me," Discord said before cracking an egg onto Spike's head and watched as it sizzled. "Wow. You're boiling mad."

Discord then sat down on a nearby chair and gently picked up Spike and placed him on his lap.

"C'mon. Tell your Uncle Discord what's bothering you."

Spike then took a few deep breaths before letting it all out.

"Today's the tryouts for the Equestria Games over at Rainbow Falls, and I've been looking forward to them all week, but now Twilight wouldn't let me go just because I said a few jokes to Bulk Biceps that she thought were mean. She even had the nerve to call me a bad friend and a bully. It's just not fair!"

Spike felt so angry after remembering everything that was upsetting him in the first place that he could actually hear steam coming out of his ears. He then saw that the sound was actually coming from a tea kettle that was placed on his head.

"Very interesting," said Discord as he removed the kettle from Spike's head and poured the water into a tea cup. "Tell me, what kind of jokes did you actually say?"

Spike then told all of his jokes to Discord; the "P" is for "Pathetic" line, the joke of how Bulk Biceps should make friends with a salad and the one of how he ate his other teammates. All this time, Discord was listing while drinking his tea.

"Well, I don't think those jokes are bad at all," he said with a little bit of sarcasm in his voice. "I mean, all they did was make Bulk Biceps feel like a loser, but that's no big deal."

Discord's words soon began to sink in as Spike started to realize that he was right. His jokes must have made Bulk Biceps feel bad about himself. Spike's anger started to disappear as it was replaced with guilt. Twilight was right, he had been a bully.

"I got to go to the tryouts," he said, jumping off of Discord's lap. "I need to apologize."

Spike ran to the door and tried to open it, only to remember that Twilight locked it. He tried to think of a way out when he got an idea.

"Discord, you can send me to the tryouts with your magic," he said. "Just snap your fingers and we'll be there in no time."

"I don't know," said Discord. "This sounds like something that can get me into trouble. And that is something I'm trying to avoid, remember?"

"Please. This is important," said Spike, giving Discord the biggest puppy dog eyes ever.

"Oh, all right," Discord chuckled. "Even I can't say "no" to a face like that."

He then picked up Spike, snapped his fingers, and in a flash of light, the two disappeared from the library, only to reappear on top of a huge mountain.

"DISCORD!"

"Whoops! Must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Hang on."

Discord snapped his fingers again and this time, he and Spike appeared in a large green field, surrounded by waterfalls flowing with rainbow colored water. The two could see Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Bulk Biceps and Derpy standing a few feet away from them, each of them wearing a gold medal.

"It seems that Twilight succeed in making you miss the tryouts," said Discord.

"I don't care about that right now," said Spike.

He and Discord made their way to where the others were standing until they heard a firm "Ahem" from behind them. They both turned around to see Twilight, who was wearing a rainbow colored wig, glaring back at them.

"Oh, uh, hi Twilight," Spike said nervously. "Did you do something different with your mane? It looks good."

"How did you get here?" Twilight firmly asked.

"I may have had something to do with it," said Discord, who was holding onto a sign with a big black arrow on it that was pointing right at him. "But Spike made me do it."

"I'll deal with you later," Twilight said before looking back at Spike. "What are you doing here? Come by to throw more insults?"

"No," said Spike, a bit offended. "I came to apologize."

Spike then made his way to the other ponies and walked right up to Bulk Biceps. He took a deep breath and said what was on his mind.

"Bulk Biceps, I'm really sorry. I'm sorry for saying those awful jokes to you yesterday. I thought I was being funny, but now I know that I was just being mean. That's my problem, I never think before I open my mouth. I'm really sorry if I offended you. I just hope you can find it in you to forgive me."

Bulk Biceps just stared at Spike for a few seconds. Then he simply smiled, picked up Spike and put him in a headlock while giving him a friendly noogie, causing the little dragon to giggle.

"So, does this mean we're good?" Spike asked after Bulk Biceps put him back down.

"YEAH!" Bulk Biceps shouted, causing Spike to fall on his back.

"That's good to know," Spike chuckled.

Twilight, who had watched the whole thing, went up to Spike and smiled at him as she helped him get back on his feet.

"That's what I love about you, Spike," she said. "You may be insensitive sometimes, but at least your heart is in the right place."

After saying that, Twilight's smile quickly disappeared and was replaced with a look of guilt.

"What's wrong, Twi?" Spike asked, a bit concerned.

"I just feel awful for not letting you come to the tryouts," said Twilight. "I mean, you were really looking forward to this and it was wrong of me to not let you come. I should have been lighter on your punishment. Rainbow Dash was right, I was harsh."

Just then, Twilight's smile quickly returned as she came up with an idea.

"There is still some of the tryouts you can watch," she told Spike. "The ice archery tryouts are still going on. How about we go and watch them together."

"I would love that," said Spike.

Twilight then used her magic to remove her rainbow wig and place it on Spike's head.

"It looks better on you."

The two chuckled as they then joined each other in a hug.

Just behind them, Discord was watching them with small tears dripping from his eyes. But then he saw Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looking at him with silly grins on their faces and quickly rubbed the tears away.

"What? I have allergies."


	7. Leap of Faith

Spike was in the kitchen of the library, making a cup of tea. Just as he was pouring the tea into the cup, he heard a huge sneeze coming from the bedroom. Spike picked up the teacup and carried it upstairs, where he saw Twilight lying in bed. Her eyes were bloodshot, she was hacking and coughing and she had an ice pack on her forehead.

"How are you feeling, Twi?" asked Spike as he placed the tea on her nightstand.

"Terrible," said Twilight with a raspy voice. "I can't remember the last time I was this sick."

She then used her magic to lift up the teacup and take a sip.

"Thanks you taking care of me, Spike."

"Hey, what's a number one assistant for?" said Spike. "I'm going out for a little bit. Do you want anything?

"No thanks, I'll be fine," said Twilight before letting out a number of hacking coughs.

"If you say so," said Spike who was a bit uneasy about leaving Twilight.

As he walked through town, Spike couldn't help but feel terrible for Twilight and tried to think of a way to make her feel better fast. She told him that she just needed plenty of bed rest, but he figured there had to be another way. As he was thinking, he heard someone call out:

"Tonic! Get your tonic here!"

Spike looked up and saw a small stand with two ponies with red manes selling bottles of a strange green liquid. Spike reconized the two as the Flim Flam brothers. But what really shocked him was that Granny Smith was with them. The brothers were the last ponies Spike would see with Granny Smith after they tried to run the Apple family out of business the last time they were in town.

"Howdy stranger," Flim said to Spike. "Care to try our one kind tonic?"

"Guranteed to make anypony and dragon feel right as rain," said Flam.

Spike picked up one of the bottles and read the label:

FLIM FLAM BROTHERS' MIRACLE-CURATIVE TONIC

"Just one sip and any sickness you have will just disappear," said Flam.

"I don't know," said Spike.

"Try it. It worked on me," said Granny Smith and she demonstrated by doing a cartwheel right in front of Spike. "I couldn't do that before without hurting my back. But thanks to that tonic, I can do about a hundred of them."

Spike was shocked to see Granny Smith so up and about.

"And the best part is that it is approved by the most honest pony in Ponyville; Applejack," said Flam.

Spike thought about it for a second and figured that if Applejack, the pony who would never tell a lie, approved of it then it must be good. He started to realize that with the tonic, he could use it to cure Twilight.

"I'll take it," Spike said as he slammed a few bits onto the stand.

"An excellent choice, my friend," said Flim.

Spike ran back to the library and made his way to Twilight's bed where she was still sneezing and coughing.

"What is that?" Twilight asked when she noticed the bottle in Spike's hands.

"This is what is going to make you all better," said Spike.

He handed Twilight the bottle and she was not too happy when she read the label.

"You got this from the Flim Flam brothers?" she asked. "Those two con ponies who almost kicked Applejack out of her home?"

"You don't understand, Twilight," said Spike. "This tonic is guaranteed to get rid of any type of aliment you have. It can even work on your cold. You should have seen what it did to Granny Smith. She's as spry as a filly. And Applejack approves it, so it must be good."

Although Twilight didn't trust anything made by the Flim Flam brothers, but Applejack was one of the most honest ponies she knew, so the tonic must do what Spike just told her.

"Well, if it's Applejack approved."

Twilight then popped off the cork of the bottle and said "Bottom's up," before guzzling down the entire tonic.

Spike's eyes lit up as he hoped that it worked. Twilight looked at him, and it seemed like she was looking a bit better as a smile appeared on her face. That is until she let out another huge sneeze and then began coughing hacking again.

Spike was shocked that the tonic didn't work. But then he figured that maybe Twilight just had to wait a bit longer for it to kick in. But come the next day, Twilight was still sick. In fact, Spike thought that she looked even worse than she was yesterday.

"I just don't get it," said Spike. "That stuff worked on Granny Smith. Why didn't it work on you?"

"I told you not to trust those brothers," said Twilight.

"Yeah, you're right Twilight. I feel like an idiot."

"Don't say that, Spike. Those brothers just have a way of tricking other ponies into believing everything they say."

"Still, I can't believe I wasted my money on a useless tonic," said Spike, who was now getting a bit angry. "I'm going to those two jerks and give them a piece of my mind."

Spike then stormed out of the library. As he walked through town, he could see Applejack walk towards him. He decided to have a little talk with her about the lousy product she approved of.

"Applejack, I'd like a word with you," he said, showing Applejack the empty tonic bottle. "How could you approve of a lousy product like this? I gave it to Twilight to help with her cold, and it didn't do anything."

"I know," Applejack signed, looking disappointed in herself. "I'm really sorry, Spike. I knew all along that that tonic was a fake. But I kept my mouth shut because it seemed to make Granny Smith happy and I didn't want to disappoint her. I understand if you're angry at me."

Spike could tell by the sad look Applejack had that she was truly sorry for lying to her and everypony else who bought the tonic and he just couldn't stay mad at her.

"I'm angry with you, Applejack," he said. "I'm mostly angry at those Flim Flam brothers. I was about to find them and demand my money back."

"Well, good luck trying to find them," said Applejack. "As soon as I revealed to everpony that the tonic was fake, those two took off faster than you can say 'Cider.'"

"Don't worry, I'll find them," said Spike. "And I'll my money, and every other pony's money back from them."

Spike walked all through town, searching for the brothers. His search brought him to the center of the park where he could see fresh tire tracks in the field. He followed them and sure enough he caught the Flim Flam brothers pushing their wagon through the field, which was filled with dozens of bottles of their tonic.

"Stop it right there, you two," Spike said.

The brothers stopped and saw Spike walk towards them with an angry glare on his face.

"Let me guess, you came here to get your money back," said Flim.

"Not just my money," said Spike. "But all of the money from the ponies you ripped off."

"Sorry son, no refunds," said Flam. "Says so right on the label."

Flam then used his magic to lift up a magnifying glass and placed it on the label where Spike saw in tiny little writing the words: SORRY, NO REFUNDS.

"That is just despicable," said Spike.

"Hey, that's life kid," said FlIm. "So why don't just run along now and stop bothering us."

Flam walked up to the cart and was about to push when something inside it caught his eye.

"Um, Flim, we might have a problem here," he told his brother. "The money's gone."

"WHAT?!" Flim then starred into the cart and saw that Flam was right. "But I put it in here before we left. This is all your fault!"

"How is it my fault?" Flim asked angrily.

"The bag probably fell out because you were pushing the cart too fast. "

"You were pushing the cart too. You were the one who pushed too fast."

Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Liar!"

"I know you are but what am I?"

Spike decided to walk away from the argument before things started to get ugly. As he walked away he heard someone say "Psst" from his right. He turned and saw a silver coated pony standing beside him.

"Who are you?" Spike asked.

"My name is Silver Shill," said the pony. "I used to work for Flim and Flam, but then I quit. I have something you might want."

Silver Shill then went to a nearby bush and pulled out a large brown sack and handed it to Spike, who opened it up. Inside were dozens of gold bits.

"That is all of the money from the ponies Flim and Flam ripped off," said Silver Shill. "I stole it from their cart before they could make their getaway. I know stealing is wrong, but they didn't deserve any of that money."

"Thank you," said Spike. "I'll make sure this goes back to it all the ponies that were cheated."

Sliver Shill smiled and shook Spike's claw as his way of saying thank you and walked away.

In the middle of Ponyville, Spike set up a small stand where he handed out all of the bits back to each pony who bought the tonic. The last pony he gave to was Granny Smith, who had tons of bits returned to her since she was the brothers' "best customer."

"Thank you kindly, Spike," said Granny Smith. "I still can't believe I believed everything those con ponies said what that tonic can do. I feel like a ninny."

"Don't worry, Granny Smith, you're not the only one," said Spike. "I actually thought that tonic could work too. I even tried it on Twilight to help her with her cold."

"Twilight has a cold? Well, I think I have something that I might help."

Back at the library, Twilight was still lying in bed, coughing like crazy, when she heard someone come up the stairs. She looked up to find Spike coming towards her, holding onto a bowl of a steaming yellow liquid.

"What is that?" she asked.

"It's Granny Smith's spicy apple soup," said Spike. "She told me she gave it to her family when they were sick and they were better in no time."

Spike gave Twilight a spoonful of the soup and she licked her lips at how delicious it was. And sure enough, Twilight felt better the next day. She thanked for Spike for all his help and also told him how proud she was of him for learning an important lesson on how if something sound too good to be true, it probably is.


	8. Wonderbolts Academy

Spike made his way to Sugarcube Corner. Twilight and the others were busy at the library checking out the new book Twilight got from Princess Celestia so he decided to go grab himself a little treat while they were reading.

When Spike got to the bakery, he was just to go inside when he saw Pinkie Pie starring at her mailbox with a sad look on her face.

"Pinkie? Are you okay?" he asked.

"No, I'm not," Pinkie Pie sighed. "I still haven't gotten a letter from Rainbow Dash."

Spike understood what she meant. Rainbow Dash had left to attend the Wonderbolts Academy and Applejack told him how ever since Rainbow left, Pinkie has been standing by her mailbox waiting for a letter from her friend.

"C'mon Pinkie. Rainbow's only been gone for two days," he said. "I'm sure she's just too busy with her training to write. Give her time."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Pinkie said in a sad tone.

Spike then went inside Sugarcube Corner. When he came back out, he saw that Pinkie Pie was still looking at her mailbox, looking more and more depressed. Spike just felt awful to see his pink friend so sad. She was usually all cheerful and bouncing and to see her with a frown just didn't sit well with Spike.

The next day, Spike heard about how Twilight and the others were planning on going to the academy to give Rainbow Dash a care package. He had hoped that doing that would make Pinkie Pie happy. Sure enough, when Spike went to Sugarcube Corner to see the others off, Pinkie Pie was super excited. She was bouncing up and down with the biggest smile on her face.

"This is so exciting," she said. "Rainbow Dash will be so happy to see us. That is, if she remembers us."

"I'm pretty sure she'll know who we are, Pinkie," said Twilight. She turned to Spike and asked him if he wanted to come with them.

"I'd love to, but I have a lot of cleaning to do," said Spike. "Tell Rainbow Dash I said hello."

"We will," said Pinkie Pie. "But if we tell you that Rainbow Dash doesn't know who you are, don't be too upset."

Spike just rolled his eyes as he waved goodbye to his friends as they walked off. He was about to head home when he took one last look at Pinkie Pie's mailbox. It reminded him of how sad Pinkie Pie was for not getting a letter and even though he knew that she would be happy to see Rainbow Dash when they give her the package, he still wanted to do something that would make her really, really happy. He then quickly came up with an idea and ran all the way back to the library.

Twilight and her friends made their way through Ponyville. They had just gotten back from their trip to the Wonderbolts Academy. Even though there were a few mishaps, like when they got sucked in by that tornado or the shock they received when Rainbow Dash almost quit the academy, they still thought it was great to see their friend again and were very happy that she made lead pony.

But no one was happier than Pinkie Pie. She was just glad that she saw that Rainbow Dash was okay, and that she remembered her. She almost hit a snag when Rainbow Dash flew off without receiving the care package they sent her, but luckily Spitfire took it and offered to give it to her.

Now Pinkie Pie was excited because she thought that Rainbow Dash had already sent her a letter thanking her for the package and she eagerly told her friends to hurry up so they can get to her mailbox and check. The others were a bit nervous that Pinkie Pie was getting her hopes up as they had just gotten back and they hoped that Pinkie Pie wouldn't be too disappointed to see another empty mailbox.

As the friends made their way to Sugarcube Corner, they saw Spike standing beside the mailbox with a huge smile on his face.

"Pinkie Pie, you won't believe it," he said as he ran up to his friends. "I went by your mailbox today and saw that there was a letter inside. I think it's from Rainbow Dash."

Pinkie Pie let out a huge happy gasp and quickly ran past Spike, almost knocking him over, and stopped at her mailbox and peaked inside. Sure enough, there was an envelope inside. Pinkie Pie took it out and saw that her name was on it. She quickly ripped opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. It read:

_Dear Pinkie Pie,_

_Sorry I couldn't be able to write to you earlier, but I've been so busy with my training that I haven't had time. The Academy is awesome. The exercises are a bit hard, but they are not hard for a tough pony like me. I really miss you and the girls and I can't wait to see you when I get back. I expect an amazing "Welcome Back" party when I return. Of course, knowing you, it will be super amazing._

_Love your super awesome friend,_

_Rainbow Dash. _

When Pinkie Pie finished reading she couldn't hold in her excitement. The smile on her face grew bigger and bigger as she pushed the letter to her chest and hugged it tight.

"She wrote to me! She wrote to me!" she said. "I told her not to forget to write, and she didn't forget to write. You know what this means? I gotta write back to her! I can't wait to tell about all the stuff that's been happening. She'll be so happy to get my letter."

Pinkie Pie then bolted into the bakery, dropping the letter on the ground. Twilight then picked it up with her magic and took a closer look at it.

"Wait a minute. I recognize this handwriting."

She then looked at Spike, who looked at her a bit nervously.

"You wrote this to her, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did," Spike said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't do it to be mean. It's just that Pinkie Pie looked so sad about not getting a letter that I decided to make one for her just to make her happy."

Twilight couldn't help but smile at her little dragon friend over what he did. She walked up to Spike and pulled him into a small hug.

"You did a very kind thing Spike," she said.

"Thanks, Twilight," said Spike who was very proud that he was able to get Pinkie Pie to smile again.


	9. Somepony To Watch Over Me

Big Macintosh pulled his pie cart through a large dusty field that was surrounded by large rocks and dead trees. As he was walking, he heard someone call "Hey Big Mac," from behind him. He turned around and saw Spike walking towards him while pulling a wagon that was filled with gems.

"Well howdy, Spike," said Big Mac. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm gathering myself some gems," said Spike as he pointed to his gem pile. "I'm going to try to make myself a jewel cake. If I don't eat these ones like last time. What are you up to? Pie delivery?"

"Eeyup," Big Mac Said. "Care to join me? I could use the company."

"Sure," said Spike.

The two began to walk through the dusty fields. They were quiet for a bit until Spike stroke up a conversation.

"That's a lot of pies you're delivering."

"Eeyup. But you should see the pies Applejack has to deliver. She has at least ten times more pies than me. I just hope she delivers them on time."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, today we decided that Apple Bloom was old enough to stay home alone."

"That's good. Apple Bloom is getting bigger."

"Well, try telling that to Applejack. When we had the conversation, it took a lot for me and Granny Smith to convince her that Apple Bloom is not a baby anymore and that she can take care of herself. But just now, as we were on our way to make our deliveries, she went back home to go check on her. Applejack can be very overprotective after Apple Bloom."

Spike then let out a small chuckle.

"What's so funny?" asked Big Mac.

"Oh nothing," said Spike. "It's just that what you just said reminded me of how Twilight use to be very overprotective of me."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah," Spike chuckled. "When I first became Twilight's assistant, she was so worried that a little dragon like me would get hurt in such a big library. She tried everything to make sure I didn't get hurt. If she wanted a book from a large shelf, she would use her magic to levitate me because she was afraid that if I got on a ladder, I would fall off. If I was reading a book, she made me wear gloves so I wouldn't get a paper cut. She was even overprotective of me when we weren't in the library, like if we were taking a walk through Canterlot, she would make me wear boots because she was afraid that I would step on a rock and hurt my foot. She even scolded me once just for saying hi to a pony on the street; telling me that I shouldn't talk to strangers."

"Yikes," said Big Mac. "Were you able to convince her that you can take care of yourself?"

"Yep," said Spike. "One time, I decided I was sick and tired of Twilight treating me like a baby all the time, so I decided to prove to her that could do things on my own. She asked me to get a book on a very large shelf and just before she use her levitation spell on me, I rushed towards the ladder and started to climb up it. Twilight tried to order me to come down, but I just kept climbing until I got the book and made it back down the ladder. Twilight was really impressed that I was able to do that without any help and she soon stopped babying me and allowed me to do things by myself."

"That's quite impressive," said Big Mac. "I wonder if that will happen with Apple Bloom and Applejack."

"Apple Bloom is a clever little filly, she'll probably think of something," said Spike. "Who knows? Maybe she'll deliver Applejack's pies herself."

Big Mac let out a small chuckle after hearing that.

"Yeah, right. What are the odds of that happening?"

Big Mac then soon stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a big brown sack lying in the middle of the field. He walked up to it and saw a note attached to it that read;

JUST LEAVE THE PIES HERE

Big Mac then opened up the sack and saw dozens of gold bits inside it.

"Are those from the person you're selling your pies to?" Spike asked.

"Eeyup," said Big Mac. "Guess they're too shy to pay me in person."

Big Mac then untied himself from the cart and walked away from it.

"Well, I guess I should be heading home," he said. "Granny's probably got dinner ready. Thanks for keeping me company, Spike."

"Hey, it was my pleasure," the small dragon said. "I should be heading home too. I got a cake to make."

As the two walked away, a hole appeared out of the ground and Rover, the red coated Diamond Dog, popped out of it, noticed the pie cart and smiled.

"Hey, Fido! Spot! Dinner's here," he yelled down the hole.

Just then, the two other Diamond Dogs, large one, Fido, and the small one, Spot, both jumped out of the hole.

"Well it's about time," said Spot.

"Yeah, I'm starving," said Fido.

The two then each grabbed a pie from the cart and were about to take a huge bite out of them when Rover stopped them.

"Hey! Where are your manners?"

The two dogs then extended their pinkie fingers out and when Rover nodded his head in approval, they gorged themselves with the pies. Rover then grabbed a pie himself and soon joined the others.


	10. Sonic Rainboom

Spike had just woken up and noticed that Twilight wasn't in her bed. He expected her to be exhausted after organizing all the books in the library yesterday. He then made his way downstairs and noticed that Twilight wasn't anywhere in the library at all. That's when Spike noticed a letter on a nearby table. He picked it up and read it.

Dear Spike.

Gone to Clousdale to watch the Best Young Flyers contest. Rainbow Dash is competing in it and me and the girls are going to cheer her on. Make sure the library is spotless when I get back.

Love Twilight.

As Spike finished reading the letter, a thought had entered his mind.

"Why didn't Twilight invite me?"

Spike had heard all about Clousdale from Rainbow Dash and was amazed at the stories he heard about it. How the clouds and rainbows were made there and how it was the birthplace of the Wonderbolts. Spike had hoped that one day he could get to visit Clousdale and he got a little upset that he just missed his chance. Then he got angry. He didn't think it was fair that Twilight didn't even bother to tell him about going to Clousdale, or even invite him to come along.

"It's not fair," Spike said to himself. "Twilight gets to go to the one place I've been dying to go to and instead of inviting me, she makes me clean. It's not fair!"

Spike was so angry that he crumpled up the letter and threw it out the window. Just then he heard someone say "What in tarnation?" from outside. He went out and saw Granny Smith rubbing her head while the crumpled up paper lay next to her. She then picked it up and looked at it in confusion.

"This is one weird looking raindrop," she said.

"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, Granny Smith," Spike said as he ran up to the old mare. "I didn't see you. I just threw that out the window."

"Out the window? Last time I checked, you were supposed to throw paper in the garbage," Granny Smith chuckled.

Spike then let out an awkward laugh.

"Sorry. I threw it out because I was just upset about something."

Granny Smith then got concerned as she looked at the small dragon, who was now looking at the ground with a gloomy face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

"I don't think you'd want to hear it," said Spike.

"Try me. I made be old but I am a good listener. I was on my way to the café to have myself a cup of tea. Why don't we talk there?"

Spike let out a small "Okay" before following Granny Smith.

At the café, Spike and Granny Smith were sitting on a table in the patio. Spike talked about how upset he felt that Twilight went to Clousdale without him while Granny Smith listened while sipping on her tea.

"I just can't believe Twilight gets to go to Clousdale and I don't," Spike said as he finished his rant.

"You're right. That doesn't seem that fair. But I'm pretty sure Twilight didn't mean to leave you behind," Granny Smith said before taking another sip of her tea.

"I know," Spike signed. "I guess I just don't like being left out."

"I know just how you feel," said Granny Smith. "Applejack went through the same thing."

Spike's ears perked up as he listened to what Granny Smith had to say.

"When Applejack was just a filly, she always wanted to go with Big Macintosh when he did one of his big pie deliveries. But Big Mac always refused to take her with him, mostly because he thought she would embarrass him. I could tell that Applejack was upset about being left out so I tried to convince Big Mac to let her tag along next time. But of course he refused. I swear, that stallion could be as stubborn as…uh…you know who."

Granny Smith pointed to a mule that was sitting at the table beside them, looking at a menu.

"But then one day, Big Mac once again refused to bring Applejack along with him and that's when she decided that she had enough. She looked Big Mac right in the eye and told him just how upset she was about him leaving her behind. She said that it made her feel like Big Mac didn't love her and I could tell that she was almost in tears when she said that. Well, Big Mac felt just terrible about the whole thing. He apologized to Applejack and promised to bring her along on all of his deliveries."

Granny Smith then took another sip of her tea and then smiled at Spike. She then put a hoof on his shoulder before continuing.

"I think the best thing to tell Twilight how you feel. Tell her how you don't like being left behind."

"But what if she gets mad at me?" asked Spike.

"I don't think that will happen," Granny Smith chuckled. "Twilight loves you and she always will. She'll understand."

Spike then smiled as he got off his chair and gave Granny Smith a small hug.

"Thanks, Granny Smith," he said. "I needed to hear that. I better get going. Twilight might be back by now."

He then walked off and waved goodbye to Granny Smith, who smiled and waved back at him.

Spike walked all the way back to the library. When he went inside, he saw Twilight look at him.

"Hi Spike. I was wondering where you were. I got so many stories to tell you about the contest," she said smiling.

But her smile soon faded when she saw Spike look at her with an angry glare.

"Spike? Is everything all right?"

"No. It isn't," Spike said. "I'm very upset with you. You went all the way to Clousdale and didn't even bother to invite me. You know how much I wanted to go here. How do you think it makes me feel that you get to go to this amazing place and I don't?"

Spike just stood there, waiting for Twilight to respond. Finally, Twilight looked at him with a look of guilt and a small tear started to form in her eye.

"You're right, Spike," she said. "It was wrong of me not to invite you. I am so sorry. I was so busy thinking about how to cheer for Rainbow Dash at the contest that I forgot all about inviting you. After Rainbow won, I started to realize that you would've loved to come with me and I felt terrible for not inviting you. I want to make it up to you though."

Twilight then used her magic to lift up seven pieces of paper out of the saddle bag she was wearing and showed them to Spike.

"These are tickets to the Wonderbolts' next air show. Rainbow Dash was able to score them for us when she went on her date with them. There are seven tickets here, and one of them is for you."

Twilight then levitated one of the tickets and placed it in Spike's hands. A huge smile appeared on the little dragon's face. He was happy that Twilight remembered him and that she was willing to make up for her mistake. He walked up to Twilight and gave her big hug.

"Thanks, Twilight. You're the best friend a dragon could ask for."

Some tears of joy formed in Twilight's eyes as she hugged Spike back.


	11. The Last Roundup

Spike was lying in his bed, reading one of his many comic books. Just as he was about to get to the part where the Power Ponies were about to stop the Mane-iac from covering all of Maretropolis with nail glue, he heard the door to the library slam open and Twilight came running up the stairs, grabbed her saddle bag from under her bed and used her magic to place the number of items into it.

"Twilight, what's going on?" Spike asked, but the purple unicorn didn't answer.

Spike then noticed that Twilight had a huge look of worry on her face, which made him a bit nervous. He remembered before Twilight left that morning, she was going to help her friends set up a huge welcome back party for Applejack, who was supposed to return home that day from her trip to the Equestria rodeo.

"Twilight, what's wrong?" Spike tried again. "Didn't Applejack like her party?"

"I wouldn't know Spike," said Twilight. "She never showed up."

"Never showed up?" Spike was a bit confused that what Twilight just said, so she explained.

"Applejack never came to her party. We got a letter from her saying that she's not coming home. I think something might have happened to her. Me and the girls are heading to the rodeo to see if she's okay."

When Twilight finished packing her saddlebag, she gave Spike a small kiss on the forehead and said a quick "Be good now," before running out the door.

Spike just stood there in shock. He could not believe that Applejack would leave like that and say that she's not coming back. She loved her family and friends too much to just walk out on them like that. That's when he realized that the rest of the apple family must be worried too and he decided to head off to make sure that they were all right.

When he made it to Sweet Apple Acres, Spike went to the front door and gave it a gentle knock.

"Come in," said a quiet voice from inside.

Spike went inside and his heart almost broke at what we saw. Granny Smith was slowly rocking back and forth on her rocking chair and gently stroking a teary-eyed Apple Bloom on her lap.

"Oh, hello, Spike," Granny Smith quietly said. "What brings you here?"

"I came to check on you," said Spike as he walked up to the elderly mare. "Twilight told me about Applejack and I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"That's very sweet of you," said Granny Smith. "We could use the company."

Spike then saw Apple Bloom look up at him. Her eyes bloodshot from all her crying.

"How are you holding up?" Spike asked as he gently wiped some of the tears from Apple Bloom's eyes with his claw.

"I just don't understand," Apple Bloom sniffed. "Why would Applejack just run off like that? It's probably my fault. I'm always getting into trouble and she couldn't take it anymore sp she ran off to get away from me."

"Don't say that, Apple Bloom," said Granny Smith. "Your sister would never do something like that."

"Granny Smith is right," said Spike. "Applejack loves you too much to just give up on you like that. She once told me that you, Granny Smith and Big Mac are more important to her than all of the apples in Equsestria."

Apple Bloom couldn't help but smile at Spike's comment. He was right. Applejack loved her family more than anything and she would never abandon them.

Spike then looked around the room and noticed that one pony was missing.

"Where's Big Mac?"

"He's out in the orchard," said Granny Smith.

Spike went out back and searched through the whole orchard until he found Big Mac. He was bucking hard on one tree that Spike noticed didn't have any apples on it at all. That's when Spike looked at Big Mac's face, which was full of anger. He could tell right away that he was kicking the tree in frustration.

"Whoa, Big Mac! Settle down," Spike said as he walked up to the stallion and patted his shoulder. Big Mac then stopped his bucking and slumped on the ground and let out a big sigh.

"You're worried about Applejack, aren't you?" asked Spike.

"Eeyup."

"It's okay. I know exactly how you feel."

Big Mac looked at the small dragon in confusion before he continued talking.

"I know how you feel because I went through the same thing with Twilight many times. Like when she went to the Everfree forest in search of the Elements of Harmony. I was so scared that something was going to happen to her. When she came back, I was so relieved that she didn't get hurt, but a part of me knew that she was going to be okay because I knew how determined she was to find the Elements and I knew that when Twilight has something on her mind, nothing will stop her. I also know that she is out there right now looking for your sister and she will not stop until she finds her. And I wouldn't worry so much about Applejack, she is one tough pony. Whatever trouble she is in, I know that she get out of it."

Big Mac just looked at the small dragon for a few seconds and thought about what he just said to him. He knew he was right. Applejack was tough and wouldn't let anything get in her way.

"Are you sure she'll come back?" asked Big Mac.

Spike looked at Big Mac with a smile and said one word.

"Eeyup."

"Hey, that's my line," Big Mac chuckled.

The next day, Spike joined the Apple family at the train station as Twilight and her friends left the train, with Applejack. The young dragon couldn't help but smile as he saw the family all embrace Applejack in a huge group hug. As they all let go of the embrace, Spike was caught by surprise when Apple Bloom came up to him and gave him a big hug.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"For being there for us," said Apple Bloom.

Pretty soon, Granny Smith, Big Mac and Applejack joined in the hug as well.

"Thanks for helping my family, Spike," said Applejack.

"Aw, it was nothing," Spike said blushing.

The other ponies watched Spike being hugged by the Apple family and couldn't help but all smile. Rainbow Dash even began to shed a few tears.

"Darn it! There I go getting all sappy again," she said.


End file.
